Parent Email and Response

 Good morning!

I'm writing with fantastic news (maybe Ryan already told you)! This fall, in English 2 Honors, we spent time writing personal narrative essays, studying the elements of personal nonfiction and memoir. Students submitted their essays to The New York Times' Annual Personal Narrative Essay Contest. 

Out of more than 11,000 entries, Ryan's charming and hilarious personal narrative, "The Pyrotechnician" was selected as a Runner Up, in the top 30 essays in the country! You can see his name published in the Runner Up category at the bottom of the winner's page: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/learning/the-winners-of-our-3rd-annual-personal-narrative-essay-contest-for-students.html

We are bursting with pride! Such great writing! Congratulations to Ryan! 

Susie

Thank you so much for letting us know about this wonderful news. Ryan had informed us about this achievement a few days back but hearing it directly from his teacher really makes us extra proud.. He is a blessed child with such great teachers like you.

 

Thanks for motivating Ryan and his continued endeavors in the subject.

Model Teacher Communication to Home

 From AP Lang

It has been wonderful getting to know your students during our first full week of school! I wanted to reach out with a little greeting and a window into how we are progressing in 3AP Language and Composition. 

We begin the year with a 3-week unit on rhetoric, where the students learn key terms and lenses relevant to the study of rhetorical analysis. Their first summative assessment will be a unit test on the terms and their applications (Sept 10). From there, we move on to our first novel study, Into the Wild, a favorite of many students! Throughout the course of the novel, they will maintain a journal called "Into my Wild" in which they explore their own interior and concrete experiences that inspire their inner voices. Quarter one will end with a rhetorical analysis essay (summative). 

Like my colleagues, I am overjoyed to have my students in person, and no day goes by without my gratitude for them. I also look forward to meeting you at the NC Open House this Thursday! See you in room 118. 

Please reach out to me with any questions. 

Helpful no-nonsense email from teacher to parent

 

Diego is failing Rhetoric, not due to lack of skill, but to lack of assignment completion. Below are all of his outstanding assignments. Diego is in the remote group, so I can’t help him in person, but I am willing to have a separate zoom conference with him to figure out what the deal is. Otherwise, he needs to set aside some time, like this afternoon when there are no classes, and get this work done. It would be a shame to have to repeat this course in summer school due to missing assignments. This is a graduation requirement. Let me know if you have any questions.

(followed by list of missing assignments)

Helpful Form Email from Teacher to Parents

 

Good morning,

So far this quarter, we have been working on the development of four skills in Civics.  In Infinite Campus, you will see 4 summative grades (one for each) skill recorded.  These scores make up your first quarter grade.  You will also see other grades entered.  These grades are practice for each skill, and do not count toward the quarter grade.  They are called formatives.  Per district policy, homework and practice do not count toward the final grade.

We will continue working on these skills in each unit moving forward in our upcoming units on The Executive Branch, The Legislative Branch, and The Judicial Branch.

All summative assessments can be made up, or re-taken, once your student has reflected on their effort and progress and requested a re-take with me.  Students have three weeks to make up or re-take these assessments from the date they were given.

Overall, students are doing very well, and we are looking forward to learning about the Presidency as we explore various aspects of the 2020 Presidential Election.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out via email:---  I am happy to talk with you about your student's progress.

Thanks, and have a great day!